"House of Hope" and "Bread of Life"

Friday, March 12

After a continental breakfast (we bring cereal, bagels, jam, etc. with us to SVG) on the Pastoral Centre’s lovely veranda, overlooking the Kingstown Harbour, we made the 10 – 15 minute walk into “town” – as the capital, Kingstown, is known in St. Vincent & The Grenadines.

We then visited the central market, a couple of souvenir shops, and stopped by the bank to exchange funds. Afterwards, we traveled to the House of Hope Society’s newly-renovated hospice facility in the Stony Ground area of Kingstown. There we were met by our old friend, Anita Nanton, who is the Chief Operating Officer the HOH Society. She had just recently taken delivery of the Mission shipment, of about one hundred boxes of used clothing, which we had sent off in mid-January. When we arrived, a number of customers – including some children from the elementary school across the road – were sorting through the items which had already been unpacked and sorted. Anita told us that there had been a large gathering waiting at the door when she arrived for work early that morning.

She mentioned that at least 25 % of their operating budget is generated through sales at the Thrift Shop, to which the Bequia Mission is by far the largest contributor. Four hospital beds had been installed since our last visit but were not occupied. Anita explained that, instead, the HOH volunteers were currently focusing on the in-home treatment and care of about thirty AIDS patients living in the southern part of St. Vincent. This is because they have, as yet, not received any funding from the SVG government and the cost of 24-hour medical care at the hospice itself would be cost-prohibitive.

Eventually, they hope to be able to raise the funds necessary to make this possible, and also to build another four-bed unit on the second floor of the facility. Although space was limited, as the Thrift Shop sales area had temporarily spilled over into the adjoining room on the main floor, Anita and her team of volunteers had prepared a delicious lunch of cold finger-foods, which we enjoyed in a small alcove just off the main room. It was indeed heart-warming to see the goods that we had packed and shipped back in January (with a great deal of assistance from devoted Mission volunteers like Nancy Houston) being put to such good use in their “second life”.

After returning to the Pastoral Centre to catch up on some rest, after the previous day’s journey, we then enlisted the services of taxi driver, Ken Abrams, to carry us on the twenty minute trip to Fairbairn Pasture. Now almost seventy, Ken – who also served as their regular driver when the Armstrongs were in St. Vincent all those years ago – has maintained his professionalism and perennially sunny disposition. After a short walk from the drop-off point at Kennedy Gap, we arrived at the Bread of Life Home for children whose lives had been affected by HIV/AIDS. We were greeted by our old friend, Sister Zita Knights, and some of the eight or so children in her care (who had evidently been anxiously awaiting our arrival). As in past years, we had earlier shipped down a large assortment of non-perishable foods which a Peterborough area donor had provided. Sister Zita explained that these items (which she sometimes shares with other poor families in the area) enable her to feed the children once the meagre government allowance runs out, part-way through each month. She then went on to recount the history of the Bread of Life Home which she had established as a shelter for children who had lost – in some cases, both of their - parents to AIDS or who were, themselves, HIV positive. After a delicious meal of her famous chicken soup (something which Sandra looks forward to all year long!), home made buns and cake, followed by the distribution of some toys and personal care products to the children, we headed back to meet Ken for the ride back to the Pastoral Centre.